All of our department leaders, tutors and practitioners, are highly experienced industry members who are working as actors, directors or producers. This means that our training is always relevant and taught for the profession by the profession.
Emma is a Theatre Director and Producer who predominantly worked for Clwyd Theatr Cymru directing productions such as The Herbal Bed (Peter Whelan), Ghosts and A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen), Arms and the Man (George Bernard Shaw), Copenhagen (Michael Frayn), Educating Rita (Willy Russell), God of Carnage (Yasmina Reza), Shakespeare’s Will (Vern Thiessen) and Oleanna (David Mamet). Her producing credits for the company included new writing to London and New York – Memory (Jonathan Lichtenstein), and Pieces (Hywel John). As a freelancer she most recently directed Closer (Patrick Marber) for The Vienna English Theatre and A History of Falling Things (James Graham) at the New Vic Theatre. Emma has produced a number of Lifetime Achievement Award ceremonies for the film, television and theatre industries on behalf of the Directors Guild of Great Britain. She has a BA (hons) in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London and an MA in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University and GITIS (The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), Moscow.
After graduating from Rambert School, Catherine performed with many leading dance companies in the UK: Random Dance Company, Carol Brown Dances, Aletta Collins, Walker Dance Park Music, and most recently with Siobhan Davies Dance Company. She has produced and directed two films,’ My Desert’ and ‘Things We Found’. She has performed with Volcano Theatre Company in ‘A Few Little Drops’, ‘What am I Doing Here?’ ‘I-Witness’ and performed and devised ‘147 Questions about Love’. She has since become a movement director for Volcano and has worked with NTW, Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Jonny Cotsen. She has taught extensive workshops, and directed projects with youth companies, conservatoire students and independent artists.
Details to follow soon.
Adam is an actor, writer and voice over artist working across audio, screen and stage.
Since winning the BBC Carleton Hobbs award, Adam has performed in over two dozen radio dramas with BBC Radio 3 & 4 and Audible. He has lent his voice to worldwide commercial campaigns, a AAA video game and over 20 audiobooks to date. His theatre and screen credits include productions for Netflix, Finborough Theatre and Nord Ouest Films.
Adam has a BA in Film & Television from Swinburne University of Technology and graduated from DSL’s One Year post-grad course in Professional Acting in 2017.
Michael has worked as director and writer across theatres in England and America and was Arts Council associate director at Chester Gateway, Liverpool Everyman and Nuffield, Southampton. Work in London includes Shakespeare’s Globe, the Young Vic, the Lyric Hammersmith, the Gate, Soho Theatre, the King’s Head, the Royal Court and the National Theatre. Work abroad includes Ireland, Italy, France, Romania, Estonia, South Africa, China and Thailand. He has been artistic director of Not the National Theatre and Great Eastern Stage, senior lecturer at Coventry, Middlesex and London Universities, deputy director of East 15 Acting School and visiting professor of theatre at Washington and Webster Universities. Recent and future productions include Three Sisters in Tennessee and The Last Horseman (a new musical) in Cairo and Lebanon.
James is an actor, director and film-maker and has worked across the UK, Ireland and Europe on stage, on camera and from the directors chair.
James was associate director for Tigerslane Studios, working on two sell out UK and Ireland tours. Previously, he has worked for the BBC, ITV and Sky in front of the lens.
James has a long and storied history with DSL having trained here himself before returning as a freelance editor and director of photography. Combining the experience of working in his former educational home with the lessons learned in the industry and freelancing for MetFilm School, James has returned on a full-time basis to pass on the lessons he has learned to the next generation of actors.
Dewi has worked as Voice Coach and Accent Coach on a number of theatre productions, including international tours and shows on London’s West End. Prior to his work with the Studio he has taught at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Drama Centre, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and Arts Educational Schools London. He has also been interviewed by the BBC and Time Magazine about his work with clients from the corporate field.
Max is not only a staff member but also an alumni of Drama Studio London. Whilst studying here he received a Commendation for his work in the Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award, which lead to work at the BBC. Since graduating from DSL in 2018 Max has gone on to record voice media for not only film but also large corporate clients like Mercedes-Benzes and Univar Solutions. Max provides technical support for all the recorded media at DSL.
Jonny has spent many years directing shows for companies touring in the UK and across Europe, including Chekhov’s Shorts, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Animal Farm, Lady Windermere’s Fan and The 39 Steps as well as numerous Dickens adaptations of his own – The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, etc. As an actor he has performed all over the world from 42nd St, NYC to Kyoto and Osaka via Rome, Athens, Berlin and Abu Dhabi as well as the National Theatre, the West End and major TV series in the UK and US.
Keith’s performance career has ranged from cabaret, film work and theatre work (including West End). Keith has worked in a variety of movement and dance styles and genres. He has worked as movement director/choreographer, both professionally and within colleges, including The Laban Centre, East 15 and ArtsEd, on numerous productions. Keith has been involved in training actors and dancers for the past 40 years.
Max trained as an actor at the Italia Conti Acting Academy, and went on to gain an MA in Dramatic Writing at Central Saint Martins.
As an actor, writer and director Max has worked across theatre and film, creating original/award winning drama, and has built a wide network of industry collaborators.
He is immensely passionate about training actors for work on screen, and has been teaching, directing and developing recorded media courses for over eight years in leading film and drama schools in the U.K and U.S.
Bio coming soon.
Debby trained at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance where she gained both a B.A in Theatre Arts and an M.A in Theatre and Performance. As an actress she performed at the Arts Theatre London, in Repertory Theatre all over the country,and the Cambridge Festival in plays such as The Sea, Collier’s Friday Night , Stags and Hens and Hecuba. Working with Out of Joint and Max Stafford Clark, Debby worked on both Talking to Terrorists and the revival of Our Country’s Good. As a professional Director, and Artistic Director, Debby has directed many productions including Oedipus in Korean and The Steamie. She developed, opened and ran the Phoenix Theatre in Hampstead where she ran an international six country festival funded by the British Council and a successful new writers group in conjunction with the Young Vic Creators program. Debby is a visiting lecturer for Rose Bruford on their MA course and developed an international foundation course. Internationally, Debby has worked all over Europe including running a Theatre course in Athens in a Drama School in Greek and working at NYU Steinhardt as a visiting lecturer.
As a writer Debby has collaborated with Complicite on her play Sustainable Bodies and contributed to a book on Timberlake Wertenbeker called The Theatre of Timberlake Wertenbeker published by Bloomsbury.
Kevin is the artistic director of KEPOW Theatre Company and a past winner of the Rose Bruford Trust Directors Award. He is a writer and director with credits including: the British Council in Singapore, productions in Hong Kong and Dubai and the world premiere of Monster at London’s Park Theatre (nominated for three Off-West-End Awards) and Spiral at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London’s West End (also nominated for an Off-West-End Award).
Kevin was the writer-in-residence at the Royal Theatre in Northampton for 2 years, where several of his plays received world premieres. His play Who? won the Sunday Times Playwright Award and performed upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre. He has also been a regular contributor to the work of the National Theatre; working as the comedy consultant for the Education Department and teaching numerous workshops in the NT Studio.
Kevin has worked internationally including in: New Zealand, America, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Germany, Holland, France, UAE, and Bali and with Keith Johnstone in Canada – most notably on Open Season at the Garrick Theatre, Calgary.
As an actor, Kevin has performed with Trestle, Told by an Idiot and performed at various repertory theatres across the UK including the Theatre Royal York and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and international venues.
Admin & Support Staff
Amanda is an alumni of Drama Studio London and has worked a wide variety of jobs including a Rights Assistant at a leading London literary agency, a Bookseller, an event planner for the World Turkey Hunting Championship, and a Character Host at the Disneyland Resort and Theme Park. She spends her spare time reading, writing, marathon binging TV shows, and catering to the needs of her adorable yet demanding Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, George.
Nicola had a varied career in engineering, data entry, retail, customer services, sales, and finance, before choosing to take up acting in 2018. It was meant to be a hobby. Wanting to go pro two months later, her training journey took her from West Acting Workshop in Bristol to Identity School of Acting and on to short courses at RADA, Morley College London and Run At It Shouting. She got her first agent in 2023 and has been looking to get her foot in the door ever since. If you want to find her outside of the office, she will either be in the gym, in the Kickbox Dojo, in a coffee shop or sat in a theatre audience somewhere.
Lynn heads up DSL outreach activity for education, arts and community organisations. She has delivered Contextual Studies and Outreach activity for UK drama conservatoires including Mountview, ALRA and LAMDA, following several years with Stagecoach Theatre Arts as Education Associate and Education and Training Manager. She trained as an actor at LAMDA, has an MA in Applied and Participatory Theatre and is a published playwright.
After graduating from Surrey Institute of Art and Design Sarah worked in buying for a number of large retailers before moving to the charity sector where she worked in the communications department. Here she gained varied experience including administrative and finance duties. Sarah works alongside UWL Finance team and is responsible for all finance administration at DSL.
Alison spent 15 years working in risk management before taking a career break and retraining in costume making at Kensington and Chelsea College. Outside of DSL she does freelance costume work and is an enthusiastic member of her local drama society. She has a passion for and extensive knowledge of period costume, which she happily shares with our actors.
Tutors
Bio coming soon.
Waj is an Actor and has worked extensively across Film, TV, and Theatre for the last 10 Years. Some of his most notable credits include Carnival Row, Honour, Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar and Silent Witness to name a few. His work in theatre has seen him at the National Theatre, Bush Theatre, Hampstead and the Pleasance.
Charlie was an actor for over 25 years before turning her hand to teaching and directing in vocational drama schools, including being head of acting at ArtsEd and head of course at PPA. As an actor she worked in repertory theatres in Clywd, Derby, Salisbury, Chester, Exeter, Manchester and Greenwich, and started her career in the West End in the original production of Stepping Out. More recently she started her own theatre company, Persever Productions, directing the London Premiere of Tokens of Affection at Waterloo East. This summer Charlie staged a joint production with DSL of a 60 minute version of The Comedy of Errors in Walpole Park, with DSL graduates alongside professional actors. Charlie has a BA in Performance studies, a PGC in Shakespeare and Text, and a master’s degree in text and performance.
Bio coming soon.
Sue Dunderdale is a director who has worked with Sean Bean (“Killing the Cat”-Royal Court Theatre) and Helena Bonham-Carter (“Woman In White”-Greenwich Theatre) among others.
Sue founded PENTABUS Theatre Company and has directed at the RSC, the Cambridge Theatre Company, the Bush Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. She was Artistic Director of the Soho Theatre Company from 1984-1988 and Greenwich Theatre from 1988-1989.
Sue has also directed episodes of Eastenders, Coronation Street, Casualty, Holby, Peak Practice and London Bridge.
Sue was previously Head of MAs and Leader of the MA in Directing at RADA.
Melanie is an actress who trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has worked extensively in the UK, Ireland and in Europe with companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, the Crucible Sheffield, the Abbey Theatre Dublin, Northern Stage, the New Vic, the Arcola and Pentabus. She was a regular character in the award-winning Irish TV series RED ROCK.
As a voiceover artist she records audiobooks for Audible and RNIB. Melanie also writes and several of her plays have been made into short films.
She has many years’ experience of teaching and directing students, most recently at The Urdang Academy and Mountview.
Ishwar Maharaj is a writer and director with over 26 years experience in the industry and is the founder of Company O Theatre, which specialises in new writing, adaptions and installations.
He also works internationally and is co-artistic director of Teatteri Vertigo in Finland, which produces large scale immersive, promenade and site-specific productions.
Alex is a Set and Costume designer who has designed over 150 productions for a wide variety of venues and companies, including: The West End, fringe, regional, touring and site specific. He has also taught drama and various backstage crafts for 25 years. He is resident designer at The Finborough Theatre.
Liz is a freelance actor, theatre director and choreographer, working in a wide variety of genres. She has worked at the National Theatre, in the West End, on large-scale commercial tours, for repertory theatres and companies large and small all around the country, and in TV and film. She trained at GSA and is also a Licentiate of Trinity College of Music. She teaches movement for actors and is especially interested in the use of the body as the actor’s instrument.
Faye specialises in teaching dance and movement, including musical theatre and period dance.
She trained at London Studio Centre, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Theatre Dance and later trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, receiving an MA in Acting. She has performance experience in theatre, television and film.
Working as both a dancer and actor has given Faye a greater understanding of what actors need to enable them to enhance and develop their skills in dance and movement. She is experienced in teaching a broad range of levels, from people with little or no performing experience to those who are experienced performers.
Clare Stearns has an MA in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University and has worked extensively in education as well as in the creative arts. She was the Head of Theatre for the Chinese International School in Hong Kong and has been the Artistic Director of two theatre companies – Breakaleg which performed regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Perilous Mouths Entertainment Ltd. which develops modern musicals as well as writing and adapting works which focus on lesser known women from history including: Mrs. Sheridan, Constance – Mrs. Wilde, Letters to the Beloved Mrs. Dickens, Piano Moments with Mrs. Darwin, George Eliot’s Leap of Love and Mussolini’s Mistresses.
An actor for over 30 years, Giles has worked at the National Theatre (This House, After The Dance), the Royal Shakespeare Company (most recently Christmas Carol and Twelfth Night), in the West End (most recently the Hilary Mantel trilogy, and Witness for the Prosecution), on Broadway (Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies), and regional theatres, including Chichester Festival Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse.
Also a Shakespeare Consultant, he has worked on the language and verse speaking of productions at the RSC (Dido: Queen of Carthage), the Globe (Romeo and Juliet), Leeds Playhouse (As You Like It), Manchester Royal Exchange (The Comedy of Errors), and multiple productions at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park.
He teaches and directs at various drama schools as well as working with emerging directors on the Genesis Programme (now the Directors’ Program) at the Young Vic. His first book – Dramatic Adventures in Rhetoric – co-authored with director Philip Wilson, was published in 2015 by Oberon Books.
Tizz Wallman-Raj graduated from Drama Studio in 2019 and has appeared in The Duchess (Netflix 2020), Dulux commercial (2021-3), HSBC (2022) and has been cast across stage and screen for large productions at The National (The Visit, Tony Kushner) and Indie film projects (Horrorscopes) alike. She’s currently creating an immersive show for 14+ and collaborating with Olivier award-winning theatre director Donnacadh O’Briain (Rotterdam) on this project to inspire and equip teens to be dazzling conversationalists.